


The Age of Love

by avaalons



Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Chris Evans - Fandom
Genre: F/M, age gap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 13:22:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11898627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avaalons/pseuds/avaalons
Summary: You're 24. Chris is 36. His buddies like to joke about it but he figures out why it annoys him SO much.





	The Age of Love

‘So, where you taking her on your next play date?’ Snigger.

‘You picking her up or is her mom dropping her off?’ Chuckle.

‘Hope you’re not out too late, it’s a school night.’ Jeer.

‘Do you help her with her homework or does she get it finished before you see her?’ Hysterical laughter.

Clearly, all the guys thought they were fucking hilarious but each additional age-related comment just made Chris’ eye twitch a little bit more violently. He was trying to keep the frustration down, he really was, but it was like each comment turned a key that was winding him tighter and tighter and tighter…

‘Look, will you all just fuck off?! Assholes! As if I’m not aware I’m older than her?! But she’s a grown ass woman with her own apartment, own job, own car, the works. You might find a barely-twelve year age gap something to laugh at but clearly you’re all just fucking jealous. So why don’t you all crawl back in your holes and when you’re ready to accept that I’m actually happy, maybe you’ll shut your damn mouths!’

And with that little speech, Chris stormed out of his buddy’s house and to his car. He knew he was being a little over dramatic but he’d had just about enough of the wisecracks. 

Yeah, maybe it had been funny at first, and a bit of novelty, but it was a few months down the line now and it was starting to grate on Chris’ last nerve. 

As he drove, he tried, rationally, to get to the root of the problem. Did he actually care that he was twelve years older than you? No, he didn’t really, it didn’t matter to him. It’s not like you were mismatched. It never felt like an issue when you were together. 

Actually, things had been going really well. You had lots of things in common, always made each other laugh, always had things to talk about, had great sex… Chris also found it easy to make the effort to stay in touch when he was away, which sounded like it should be a given but was actually quite a big deal for him when distance could so easily wreck a relationship. 

He found himself smiling as he drove, picturing your sleepy face over Skype, desperately tired but forcing yourself awake long enough to talk to him in a different time zone. 

He liked the way you’d do little things for him, like leave his favourite candy bar in the pocket of his hoodie when it was hung on the coat rack so that he’d find it later, or arrive at his house with a bag of treats for Dodger (‘gotta win him over somehow,’ you would explain), or the way you asked what his mom’s favourite cake was the first time you were invited for dinner so you could make it and take it with you. 

Lots of little things that just reminded him you cared and that you were thinking of him.

Lots of little things that added up to one big thing.

And suddenly Chris knew why the jokes were bugging him so much.

***

You jumped a little when there was a knock at your apartment door and then frowned to yourself. You weren’t expecting anyone, that was for sure, you thought as you stood up and looked down at yourself wryly. Sweats, big, thick woollen socks, a huge Ghostbusters tshirt, no bra, thick rimmed glasses on because you couldn’t be fussed with your contacts, hair in a haphazard bun… you hoped the person on the other side of the door had a strong constitution. 

You pulled open the door a little, chain still on, and immediately wished you hadn’t. Not for the first time, you cursed not having one of those little peep hole door thingies. At least then you could have pretended to be out. But as it was, you had no choice but to acknowledge your visitor.

'Chris! Hi! I wasn’t expecting - come in, come in,’ your voice was weirdly high pitched as you stumbled over your words and the closing of the door so you could undo the chain.

You cast a cursory glance over your apartment and winced a little as Chris stepped over the threshold. It was probably verging on the 'slum’ side of 'lived in’ and you wished and wished, shame enshrouding you, that you’d not been a lazy asshole today. 

'Excuse the mess, I’m so sorry. Didn’t think I’d have visitors today!’

You adjusted your glasses a little, nervously, and crossed your arms under your boobs, remembering you had no bra on. 

'Oh god, I can go. I didn’t mean to barge in…’ Chris motioned to the door, the apologetic tone betraying the relative newness of your relationship. What had it been now? Five months? Six? Time, of course, being a relative concept with Chris and his travelling schedule. 

'No, it’s fine, honestly. I’m just…’ you cast a hand over yourself, 'Not exactly in my finest.’

He grinned at you then, eyes raking over your form, 'Well, I happen to think you look very cute.’

You rolled your eyes but smiled nevertheless, 'Great, just how I always want to be thought of by you. Not enchanting seductress, or sex goddess, but cute.’

'I don’t know babe, those glasses are doing things to me, and,’ he peered around the back of you with mischievousness in his eyes, 'that ass is looking spectacular. Surprised you haven’t got 'juicy’ written across it.’

He was close enough for you to shove playfully at his chest, 'Don’t tease.’

'Oh, I’m not,’ he promised, engulfing you with his arms before leaning down to capture your mouth in a slow kiss. The mood quickly turned from playful to heady, as it often did with him.

He pulled back slightly, smiling like he knew the exact effect he had over you, and spoke softly against your mouth, 'Hi.’

'Hi,’ you beamed up at him, 'What’s a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?’

He looked up to the ceiling, tilting his head side to side, pretending to consider it, 'Oh, I know this girl…’

'Oh yeah? She anything special?’ you humoured him, playing the game but he just looked steadily at you, an expression you hadn’t seen before across his face, in his eyes, that made the breath catch in your throat and your heart race just that little bit faster. And suddenly, your face was hot and you didn’t really know what to do with yourself so you diverted your gaze and untangled yourself from his arms, asking if he wanted a drink as you made your way to the kitchen. 

'What do you got?’ was his response.

'Actually, I stocked up on some Heinekens, just for you.’

'Liar, you like it too. You watching a movie?’

He must have seen the paused tv screen and the bowl of popcorn. 

'Yeah, just some trashy chick flick. Wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy on the brain.’

'Mind if I join you?’

'Not at all,’ you answered as you walked through with two bottles of beer, tops prised off.

He was sitting on the couch, settling with one arm running along the back of where you had been sitting, one knee bent and ankle propped against thigh. You sank down next to him, his warmth immediately seeping through your tshirt and spreading over your skin. You grabbed the bowl of popcorn and the remote just as Chris spoke, suddenly.

'Can I ask you something?’

'Of course, what’s up?’ you replied, attention piqued.

'Does it bother you that I’m thirty six? That there’s twelve years between us?’

'What? No, of course not,’ your brow furrowed, wondering where this was coming from. 'It doesn’t even cross my mind. Maybe my head is twelve years older than my physical age or maybe-’

'I’m a giant man child?’ he grinned down at you.

A peal of laughter burst from you, 'Not exactly how I was going to phrase it but, yeah, pretty much.’

The arm that ran along the back of the couch now tucked itself around your shoulders, tugging you in to his body.

'Okay, as long as it doesn’t matter to you,’ he said, satisfied with your answer and planting a kiss against your temple.

'Never,’ you scrubbed a gentle hand over his beard before pressing play on the remote, 'I happen to really like my giant man child.’

***

You’d lasted maybe twenty minutes before the popcorn bowl was abandoned on the coffee table and a heavy make out session had started. Chris thought twenty minutes was actually fairly respectable given his revelation in the car earlier, which he remembered he’d yet to divulge to you. 

You were reclined back against the cushions resting on the arm of the couch, your legs thrown over his lap. He was leaning over you, one hand wandering your thigh, the other gently caressing your face as he kissed you, hints of beer and the faintest trace of cigarettes.

The movie long forgotten, Chris threw everything into kissing you, trying to work up the courage to tell you how he felt. His fingertips found their way under the hem of your shirt, tracing lazy patterns on the hot skin at the top of your waistband and when you let out the barest hint of a moan as your hips rolled ever so slightly against him, he knew he needed to get it out now. He couldn’t, couldn’t wait any longer.

Chris pulled back from your face ever so slightly to look you in the eye, one hand still caressing the skin across your hips and belly. He didn’t say anything for a little while, just took you in, and he could feel you getting restless and squirmy under his gaze. You didn’t feel all that comfortable with this kind of intense attention, but he knew it was because you hadn’t ever been used to it, hadn’t been used to being adored. 

'I’m going to tell you something now,’ Chris eventually began, 'and I don’t want you to freak out.’

'Oh. Okay,’ you managed, barely a whisper.

'I’ve fallen in love with you,’ he stated, without ceremony or flourish, just a simple truth spoken as gently as the thumb caressing your cheekbone, 'I love you.’

You were silent, holding your breath, trying to stop time, stop this moment and keep it forever. But you knew he would start to think the worst if you didn’t speak soon. Suddenly his earlier questions all made sense.

'Is that why you wanted to know if I was bothered about our ages?’

A half smile appeared with a little shrug, 'You caught me. I just… I know what I want, now. But at twenty four, I didn’t have any idea. So I don’t want to pressure you, you don’t need to say it back or anything - my ego could probably survive it for a little while - but I do need you to know that I’m in love with you and that I’m all in.’

You searched his eyes and brought your hands up to clasp his face over his beard, following the hard line of his jaw under it as you revelled in this glorious, heart stopping moment.

Then you smiled, 'Luckily for you, I’m way more emotionally mature than you probably were at twenty four.’

Chris inclined his head in reluctant acceptance at that. 

'And I do know what I want,’ you lowered your voice to a whisper, covering the space on his chest that housed his heart with a trembling palm, 'and it’s you.’

It was subtle but you could see his face light up, eyes widening ever so slightly, smile curling a little more, 'You love me too?’

You nodded firmly and parroted him, 'I love you too.’

You stretched your neck up to kiss him, more forcefully this time, punctuating the significance of your words with physical action. 

And Chris kissed you back, just as hard, excitement and happiness fluttering in his belly, realising that love was love, whether his friends gave him a hard time about it or not.


End file.
